The Hope of Resurrection

by  Fr. Mathai Varkey Puthukkunnathu

"I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Revelations 1:17

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most prominent event in the New Testament. It altered the perspectives of the disciples about their commission and in nutshell this changed the face of the Earth afterwards. The events that followed the Lord’s resurrection prepared the disciples to stand steadfast in the True Faith and to preach the Good News to all. They were strengthened by the hope of the Resurrection to face a hostile world and that equipped them to embrace Martyrdom for their Master and for His Heavenly Kingdom. The only one Apostle who had natural death was St. John, who was also the youngest among the disciples. The resurrection fulfilled the Divine prophecy as per Gen. 3:15; “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Through the Resurrection, the Son of Man defeated the plan of the Lucifer who failed the creation through his false pretense, and by it the humanity got resurged with the divine power to defeat Satan and his emissaries. 

There were sects among the Hebrews that did not believe in the resurrection of the body as we read in Luke 20:27, ”Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.” The resurrection of Christ is the proof of His promise to the entire humanity that there is a resurrection to all; a resurrection which precedes the Judgment. 

When Christ encountered the grief stricken sisters of His beloved Lazarus, He promised the supreme power of God, uttering, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25&26. We have absolute hope in the resurrected Christ. It is also evident here that the passage through the inevitable door of death brings a person closer to the eternal life; to a life that is desirable to all faithful, as we read in the book of Revelations 7:13-17. “Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The new life in the Heavenly Kingdom, with a transformed body will not have to meet the limitations and the shortcomings of the physique or that of the world. Those who are eligible to enjoy that eternal life will have a transformed body that is similar to that of the Resurrected Christ who enters the room, where the disciples kept themselves in the fear of the Jews, of which the doors were locked.

The promise of His resurrection is the anticipatory hope of a Christian. We conclude the Nicene Creed as “ -- And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the new life in the world to come.” This is the ultimate expectation of a believer. Through His resurrection Christ made this anticipation a reality to all. Syrian Orthodox Church believes in the resurrection of the body. It is clear in the book of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 

Cyril of Jerusalem testifies to this effect, "This body shall be raised, not remaining weak as it is now, but this same body shall be raised. By putting on incorruption, it shall be altered, as iron blending with fire becomes fire-or rather, in a manner the Lord who raises us knows. However it will be, this body shall be raised, but it shall not remain such as it is. Rather, it shall abide as an eternal body. It shall no longer require for its life such nourishment as now, nor shall it require a ladder for its ascent; for it shall be made a spiritual body, a marvelous thing, such as we have not the ability to describe.”
It is our duty to extend the glory of His resurrection as we read in the book of Acts 4:33; ”With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” We are called to be the witnesses of the resurrected Lord. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, He entrusted a divine direction to her, “--Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." John 20: 17. This divine direction has to be preached and propagated to all people of the world. 
The most important message of Easter / Resurrection is that of Peace and Love. Jesus testifies the effects of Peace and Love when He instructs the disciples; John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” And John 16:33; "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Through His glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ overcame the world.

We still tend to live in our disbelief and unyielding sinful nature. Although we are well informed, we are like Galatians; “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.” Galatians 3:1. This sinful and adamant nature has to be changed. The journey of Cleopas and his companion to Emmaus reveals this truth that even those who witnessed the unique events in Jerusalem during His crucifixion doubted the Divinity of Christ. That is the reason why the son of Man reaffirms their (shallow) faith, saying, “He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24: 25-27. We need to pray to the Lord to provide us with the divine wisdom to reiterate our faith in Him and the spiritual understanding to look forward to His Second Coming.

Indeed HE IS RISEN! and conquered the world. Let us submit ourselves to the Resurrected Lord to strengthen all of us to carryout our responsibilities, the way it is pleasing to Him and for the glory of His Kingdom.